During drilling operations, drilling mud may be pumped into a wellbore. The drilling mud may serve several purposes, including applying a pressure on the formation, which may reduce or prevent formation fluids from entering the wellbore during drilling. The formation fluids mixed with the drilling fluid can reach the surface, resulting in a risk of fire or explosion if hydrocarbons (liquid or gas) are contained in the formation fluid. To control this risk, pressure control devices are installed at the surface of a drilling, such as one or more blowout preventers (BOPs) that can be attached onto a wellhead above the wellbore. A rotating control device (RCD) is typically attached on the top of the BOPs to divert mud/fluid, and circulate it through a choke manifold to avoid the influx of fluid reaching a drilling rig floor (as well as allowing pressure management inside the wellbore). A bearing assembly is used for purposes of controlling the pressure of fluid flow to the surface while drilling operations are conducted. The bearing assembly is typically raised by a top drive assembly and then inserted into a “bowl” of a housing of the RCD. The bearing assembly rotatably receives and seals a drill pipe during drilling operations through the wellhead. Thus, the bearing assembly acts as a seal and a bearing, as supported by the RCD housing.
After the bearing assembly is inserted into the bowl of the housing of the RCD, the RCD can be operated to “lock” a stationary housing of the bearing assembly to the RCD housing (while still allowing for the rotational components of the bearing assembly to rotate along with a rotating drill pipe). This “locking” function is typically performed with ram mechanisms coupled to the RCD housing and that are actuated to lock the bearing assembly to the RCD housing, and then actuated to unlock the bearing assembly from the RCD housing (such as when seals of the bearing assembly need to be replaced). Another type of locking mechanisms includes a clamp mechanism that is manually or hydraulically actuated to lock the bearing assembly to the RCD housing. The ram mechanism must have internal machine thread and threaded rod, and a motor to rotate the threaded rod. The rod drives the ram into the bearing assembly to lock it. This is disadvantageous because the ram mechanism must be locked manually by an operator, which is dangerous and time consuming.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.